Geminid The last thing Alsa sees before the darkness wraps around him is the sight of red glowing eyes. He finds himself, then, in a pitch black, cold cave.

Alsa No light? Can I fish around in my pockets and dreamweave a lighter?

Geminid You have light of whatever kind you want

• Alsa pulls out a small metal lighter and lights it with a "clink".

Geminid You are in a narrow cave crawling with worms.

Alsa "Euugh!"

• Alsa begins moving through the cave, trying to shake the worms off of his shoes as he goes.

Geminid A hissing voice says, "Allllllssssssssssaaaaaa."

Alsa "Who's there?"

Alsa Does it sound monstrous?

Geminid It sounds unpleasant. It's a hiss. "Alllllsssssssaaaaaaaa."

• Alsa is still walking, with the occasional foot shake. "Yes, what is it?"

Geminid You feel a hand brush your shoulder.

• Alsa turns around to look, which makes the light flicker. "Show yourself!"
• Alsa 's voice has a note of rising alarm, replacing his previous disgust.

Geminid No one's there.

Geminid No hand is there, even.

Geminid "Alllllsssssaaaaa."

• Alsa turns all around, waving the lighter slowly, and then starts walking again. "Who are you? What is this place?"

Alsa Do the features of the cave change at all as I make my way forward, or does it seem to be completely homogeneous?

Geminid It's completely uniform

Geminid You feel hot breathe on your neck, and the sudden sense that the walls are closing in on you.

Alsa The Sword of Roses has plant-related powers, yes? Can strike the ground and dreamweave a tree that rapidly grows, pushing the walls out and eventually breaking through to the surface?

Alsa s/strike/I strike/

Geminid The tree that grows breaks the ceiling open and above you, you see a mad firmament of blood red, swirling chaos.

• Alsa squints at the scene through the branches, and begins climbing up toward it to get a better look.

Geminid At the top, you see a man waiting patiently on the edge of the new hole in the ground. He is your mirror image.

• Alsa makes his way up the tree to stand on the ground opposite his double. "Aren't you a handsome devil?"

Geminid "Laugh while you can. When this film fails, you're doomed."

• Alsa stands and dusts himself off, calmly. "Oh? How will I be doomed, exactly?"

Geminid "Never work again. Lose all those who love you. Reputation further tarnished. Will you stoop to doing pornography?"

• Alsa smiles. "As if it were possible to sink any lower. Pornography would probably be a step up from my current job, actually. At least then I wouldn't be surrounded by two-faced bastards." He sneers. "Is that really the best you can do? You're a pretty pathetic 'inner demon'. No wonder I've been able to stay optimistic all these years!"

Geminid He looks confused, then says, "There is no inner you to reflect. I only reflect the surface."

• Alsa reflects the look of confusion, then says, "So you're not here to feed on my self-doubt? Can you tell me where we are?"

Geminid "I tell you nothing you don't already know: this is Nightmare, as am I. You are an empty vessel going through the motions."

Alsa "How do I leave?"

• Alsa looks around, searching the landscape for any sort of landmark.

Geminid "You never leave. You are always here."

Alsa "That doesn't make any sense. Everything with an entrance also has an exit." He begins walking.

Geminid He changes form to Paolo and says, "Alsabyerdiese Ipanym?"

• Alsa doesn't stop, or look back. "Come along if you want, but I'm not waiting for you, demon."

Geminid "Die."

Geminid He lunges and a knife appears in his hand.

Geminid He lunges to stab you.

Geminid r stun 16+3+6 wound 16+3+6

Eklem Geminid [stun: 16+3+6=25] 27 34 35

Eklem Geminid [wound: 16+3+6=25] 26 33 34

Alsa Yikes.

Geminid Right. Main chat.

---

Geminid Back in here, Alsa. To the vision temple?

Alsa Yes.

Geminid Fontaine is sitting on the steps while mass goes on inside.

• Alsa stops there. "Mr. Silvertop. I'm afraid defeating the Scissor Man didn't help us in our quest."

Geminid He looks upset as you say it, "So we resort to the fakes?"

Alsa "That's still an option, but it's still risky. Do you have any new information?"

Geminid He shakes his head, "Nothing that seems connected. I followed some rumors about nightmares and such, and all I found out was the following: 1. it is said that Seamon Coranizo follows nightmare, as you know. It seems he visited your apartment early this morning, and he met with your set designer and had a fight with him yesterday. 2. there is a possibility that creatures known as the Bats of Nightmare have been seen in this city as of la

Geminid st week. and 3. No gunsmith in town agrees on what the guns would look like or where they'd be."

• Alsa frowns. "I need to call my apartment."
• Alsa finds a payphone and calls Paolo.

Geminid He nods. There's a phone by the connection church.

Geminid Paolo answers, "Hello?"

Alsa "Paolo? Are you okay?"

Geminid "Oh, Alsa. Yeah, I'm fine. You had a visitor earlier."

Alsa "Good, good. I heard someone might have come around looking for me. Mr. Coranizo, right? Did he say anything?"

Geminid "He wanted us over for dinner tomorrow."

Geminid "He was super nice, actually."

Alsa "He ... really?" Alsa pauses. "Did you accept?"

Geminid "I told him I'd ask you. I hope we can go, though."

Alsa "Yeah, I'll try to clear up a space in my schedule. There might be a conflict though. Hey, I've got an appointment to get to right now, but I'll be in touch. See you soon."

Geminid "It'd be nice to see you! Later."

• Alsa goes back to Fontaine and says, "Mr. Coranizo has invited me for dinner tomorrow."

Alsa "If we hadn't knocked out his assassin last night, I would be extremely suspicious of his motives."

Geminid Fontaine frowns, "I suggest you go, and seek information, if you think you can do so safely."

• Alsa nods. At this point, I'll proceed inside to figure out who my appointment was with.

Alsa s/was/is/

Geminid Who made the appointment for you?

Alsa A vision priest on duty. I'd need to check the log for his name.

Geminid Manvi?

Alsa Could have been.

Geminid What was this about?

Alsa Green's mayoral bid.

Alsa He was just introduced as "a friendly priest".

Geminid Ahh.

Geminid So you get taken to Father Manvi's office.

Geminid "Mr. Ipanym," he greets.

Alsa "Father Manvi, good afternoon. Sorry I missed mass, I ... uh, well, I have been having a very inconvenient week."

Geminid "Fontaine has mentioned some of your troubles."

• Alsa nods. "I'm here because Mr. Green, my employer, has instructed me to secure the church's support in the upcoming election. Confidentally, I'm not sure I want him to have it."

Geminid He blinks, then smiles, "Confidentially, neither do we."

Alsa "Confidentially. Officially, I'm a loyal employee. I suspect that he's ... in league with ... unsavory forces. But I don't have any direct evidence. Do you?"

Geminid He shakes his head, "Not yet. A few pictures of him talking with some unpleasant sorts, but that's not proof of anything. No more proof have we than the papers, anyway." He pauses, "But there is someone who might be able to find out more, soon."

Alsa "Is it someone who's likely to help us?"

Geminid He shrugs, "She's a street urchin that started work at the movie studios recently. She might have access to a camera of some power soon."

Alsa "Alice Higgins? Might have access to a 'camera of power'?"

• Alsa seems caught between unbelief and terror.

Geminid He smiles, "Ahh, you know her, I can see."

Geminid "I sold her a lense that can see souls. She seems to know where to find film that can handle it. A picture of Green's soul..."

Alsa "What would we do with that? Blackmail him? Give it to the press?"

Geminid "The latter would likely destroy him politically."

• Alsa thinks. "Then ... if I can convince Alice to give us a picture of his soul, would the church be willing to show him their support? Since after all, it ultimately wouldn't amount to anything."

Geminid He considers, "I'll have to think about that. We ought to work out something that helps you a bit more than that, but doesn't leave us looking like we supported a monster."

Alsa "If I just used the picture to blackmail him, that would probably get him off of my back, but that wouldn't keep him from getting elected."

Geminid "I suppose it also depends on what's on his soul. I tell you what: tell him you've convinced us to give him a chance. Nothing public yet, but tell him you'll have our endorsement at the right time. That should stall him. If you need some proof of that, I can give him a call."

• Alsa nods. "Okay. I'll come back as soon as I have the picture. I should be able to meet with Alice tomorrow on-set. About Alice - do you know her well? Can you give me any advice on working with her?"

Geminid He sighs, "I was going to ask you the same thing."

• Alsa smiles sadly. "I'll let you know if I learn anything." His smile fades. "Is there anything else I can do for the church, reverend?"

Geminid He shakes his head, "I'm not in a position to know much more. I usually just make glasses."

• Alsa nods. "I'd better go round up the gang, then. Thanks for your time, reverend."

Geminid He nods.

• Alsa stands up, then pauses. "Oh, one other thing ... do you know the name 'Lilac'?"

Alsa "First name 'Danaver'?"

Geminid He pauses, "It sounds familiar. I... Oh, yes. Wasn't that the name of a character in one of your mov--Danaver? No, this was a young woman. In Sidney."

Alsa What name is he referring to?

Geminid Moira Lilac

Alsa Oh, the girl that was supposed to be the chosen one, or something, but she ended up getting tortured to death while we wandered around with her doppelganger?

• Alsa drops his eyes for a moment. "That's right, Moira Lilac. Hm. Well, thanks again, reverend. I'll see you around."

Geminid She used Wishgranter in the end and died giving Sidney powers.

Geminid Anyway.

Geminid You go where?

• Alsa goes out to the street, first, to find Fontaine. "How long do we have until the drop?"

Geminid "They didn't set a time. The sooner the better."

Alsa "One of my ... friends is busy until after midnight. This will go much more smoothly with her help. If we can, we'll take care of it tonight. Okay?"

Geminid He pauses, then nods.

Alsa "I'm going to find out what happened to Tilluel. Should we look for you at the house?"

Geminid He nods, "Yes."

• Alsa heads for the hospital, then.